Sunday, December 20, 2009

Week 51, Project 365

Some of the photos I'm sharing this week were taken by MY DAUGHTER [insert gleeful smile] whose flight arrived right on time -- 3:25 a.m. Thursday morning. No sleep for the weary that night but totally worth it! We've enjoyed showing her bits of our city and introducing her to friends. This coming week we're looking forward to some R&R in Sta. Rosa.

The last time Tina was in Argentina she was ten years old and we spent most of that month-long visit at the house in Sta. Rosa with Ivan's folks. The town was smaller then (population of 7,000 then and it's almost twice that now). We didn't do a lot of sight-seeing at the time; our focus was on seeing people, not places. This time we plan to visit Cumbrecita (a little German village way up in the mountains) and hang out in Belgrano (of course, since we have to take her to Tio Rico's!). So for the final Project 365 next Sunday I'll probably have lots of "touristy" photos.

But this week the photos are closer to home. Starting with this one of the neighbor's garbage. The garbage isn't why I took it; look closer and you'll see the wild parrots tearing into it. Those pesky varmints love to strew garbage everywhere.

Tuesday I shared a whole boat load of photos for Nester's Christmas Tour of Homes so this is a repeat. It shows a bit of the tree, the quiltie I received in the Four Seasons Holiday Quilt Swap and one of the doo-jobbies I made to hang on either side of the arched doorway.

Our co-workers bought a "new" used dryer and gave us their old one which had quit working. Ivan discovered why when he took it all apart: there had been a fire at some point and wires had melted together.

That pile of debris in front represents the fuzz and gunk he cleaned out. Happy to say that within a couple days he had fabricated missing parts, re-wired the whole thing and now it works! I still like hanging things on the line to dry, but we'll do some clothes in the dryer to avoid having to iron them (I'd rather clean toilets than iron clothes).

Thursday after lunch we took Tina to our favorite ice cream shop. We enjoyed the refreshing fruit sherberts -- grapefruit, lemon and green apple. SOOOOO good!

On the way home we noticed this hydrangea -- have you ever seen the different colors mixed like that?

I thought the flower color was dependent on the mineral content of the soil, but how can the same soil produce such a variety of color? Any gardeners care to share the answer? Inquiring minds want to know!

Tina brought the part Ivan needed to fix my computer. The company that sold us the part has a very nice 23-page how-to manual with over 60 steps (photos included) on exactly how to do the repair.

I'm very, Very, VERY happy to have my Mac back!!!

I've enjoyed feeding my daughter :-) For one meal I used tomatoes and basil from our garden, along with mozzarella for a yummy Caprese salad.

Saturday evening Tina and I went with Nestor and Graciela to another friend's house for what we thought would be just basic sushi instruction, but turned out to be an international potluck.

The friend, Regina, teaches German at a local language school where you can also learn French, English, Portuguese, Italian or Spanish (for foreigners). This was a get-together for the teachers, students and their families and we were fortunate to be invited as well. Besides the sushi instruction there was French ratatouille, Italian bagna cauda, and I'm not even sure what else. There was so much food and so many people I couldn't try everything.

Obviously it was A VERY GOOD WEEK. Trusting that the next one will be just as good, as we enjoy a quiet Christmas in Sta. Rosa. May your Christmas be a joyful time filled with worshiping the One whose birth started it all!

10 comments:

Mari said...

What a wonderful week - good times spent with family and friends!
The hydrangea is beautiful! I have seen one, and only one do that before.

Kelly L said...

I love your pictures and joy in the post.

Merry Christmas to you.
Love,
Kelly

Amy said...

beautiful pictures this week; the sherbet, the flowers, the salad! fabulous!!

sara said...

so, in looking closer at the parrots, I realized you put your garbage up on a pole....why is that?

I am just more and more impressed with your husband. seriously, to rewire a dryer and put a part in a computer...he is a keeper for sure!!!

the hydrangea do that here in AR too. I have no idea why!

Have a very merry Christmas, my friend. And enjoy every moment with your daughter!!!!

Dena said...

How great to have your daughter there to share in the holiday season.

I have no clue as to why there are different colored flowers together, but they sure are beautiful!

Lhoyt said...

Now it's not enough to just tie the garbage to the tree? (chuckle) Now you have to put a wire mesh lid over it, also?
My mouth is watering at the thought of the Caprese salad. I love it, but it must be scrumptious with the vine ripened tomatoes and just cut basil.
Have a wonderful time in SR. Take a couple of dips on my behalf, also!

riTa Koch said...

Mr. Fix-it is amazing, runs in the Hoyt blood. Talking to U Bud yesterday was fun, hearing how handy they all were/are, from their youth.
Caprese salad, and pronounced IN ITALIANO, reminds me of a cooking show Mike likes "Everyday Italian". The cook is gorgeous, too ;)!
Gorgeous Tina looks so happy.
¡Que lo pasen estupendamente!

Esthermay Bentley-Goossen said...

The dryer story sounds just like my husband. God has been good to us in this way manymany times supplying what money could not afford. Always good to have a handyman :-)

I’ve never heard of green apple sherbet but I LOVE green apples. I need to find some of this green apple-sherbet in Minnesota – [fat chance, right?!]

The hydrangea is magnificent and making me very tired of the snow here…
Beautiful!!
I cannot answer your horticulture question but … Our neighbor’s have a maple tree which – from a distance – has two very different shades of green leaves. Every year and in the same area of the tree. My husband believes that when the tree was young a branch was grafted on…. Maybe someone grafted on a branch when the hydrangea plant was very young…

Salad makes me lonely for my summertime backyard too :-(

by-the-way, I love your blog background! Very nice.

Merry CHRISTmas, Kim! I have so very much enjoyed the weekly peeks into your life!
Our cultures and surroundings are so very different, yet I see the thread of “FAMILY” in all your posts and that ties us all together.
Blessings to you and yours!
~es.

Anonymous said...

Nice pictures :)

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Sharon said...

Love the new background! Very classy